Chapter 632 - 233: Double Blessings
Chapter 632: Chapter 233: Double Blessings
The Xu family had a rare reunion dinner that evening. Except for the second son’s family, who were far away serving as officials in another region, everyone else was present. Even Xu Yanhe was specially called back from the Imperial College. One could imagine how overwhelmed Xu Yanhe felt when he returned home to see Aunt Xu Su Ying, who had been separated from the family for twenty years, as well as Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing, whom he seemed to have met once before.
Xu Yanhe had passed the special examination in August and become a scholar. Logically, he didn’t need to report to the Imperial College every day. However, the academy boasted an extensive collection of books, renowned Deans and Doctors, and outstanding students from all over the Wei Dynasty. It was simply the ideal place to prepare for future exams. Because of this, he commuted between the Imperial College and home every day, not daring to slack off in his studies in the slightest.
When he left home early in the morning, everything had been perfectly normal. Yet, by the time he was called back in the afternoon, Aunt Xu Su Ying’s family was already reuniting with his grandparents. Seriously, since they had found Aunt Xu Su Ying, why couldn’t they have told him earlier? What kind of people were Xu Yanlin and Uncle De’an! He was the one whose information had helped them find her, yet in this household, he was the very last to know about her return.
Xu Yanlin comforted Xu Yanhe. "How could you be the last? There’s still our uncle’s family. Father just sent a letter to him, and it will take at least ten days for him to receive it. You know much earlier than he will."
Xu Yanhe was speechless. He didn’t feel comforted at all. Really, Xu Yanlin could just shut up!
Feeling depressed, Xu Yanhe vigorously poured drinks for Zhao Jing, insisting he drink up. "That day at the City God Temple, it was you and Chen Wanqing I saw, wasn’t it? Why were you two hiding? If you hadn’t hidden, we might have reunited this time a year ago."
Knowing he was in the wrong, Zhao Jing picked up his wine cup and downed it in one gulp. "It was my fault, but at that time, we didn’t know if the approaching people were friends or foes, so we didn’t dare to act rashly. Afterward, we did ask around, but we didn’t find out any information about you."
Xu Yanhe was curious. "Who did you ask? Mr. Sheng?"
"No, it was Mr. Sheng’s daughter. She didn’t say much, and we didn’t dare to ask too deeply for fear of giving ourselves away. Who knew we would miss each other just like that."
Hearing this, Xu Yanhe felt depressed again. Not only did he make Zhao Jing drink another cup, but he also wanted to toast Chen Wanqing. Since they were all family, they didn’t dine in two separate halls; they only set up a folding screen in the middle to divide the room. When Xu Yanhe stood up, Zhao Jing didn’t know his intention. Seeing him carry his wine cup to the women’s table, Zhao Jing assumed he was going to toast Xu Su Ying. Xu Yanhe indeed toasted Aunt Xu Su Ying first, but then he poured another cup to toast Chen Wanqing.
Xu Su Ying let out a surprised "Oh!" Before she could even say anything, she saw Zhao Jing coming over.
He took the wine cup in front of Chen Wanqing, poured himself a drink, and said to Xu Yanhe, "Chen Wanqing isn’t good with alcohol. I’ll drink this cup for her." With that, he tilted his head back and drained the wine in one go.
Seeing this, Xu Yanhe still didn’t give up. "Don’t do that. This is a toast for Chen Wanqing. It doesn’t count if you drink it, Zhao Jing." Saying that, he actually tried to toast Chen Wanqing again.
Xu Su Ying directly pulled Xu Yanhe over. "You want to drink, right? Fine, I’ll drink with you."
De’an also came over from behind and threw an arm around Xu Yanhe’s neck. "What’s the fun in drinking with the womenfolk? If you want to drink, us men will drink together. I guarantee you’ll drink to your heart’s content today."
Xu Yanhe had no idea how he had managed to incur public wrath. He just wanted to share a drink with Chen Wanqing; it wasn’t like they were drinking cross-cupped wine at a wedding. Was it really that taboo? As a young man, he was oblivious, but Grandmother Xu, Mrs. Guo, and the others sitting at the head of the table noticed something.
Grandmother Xu immediately looked at Chen Wanqing with pleasant surprise and asked in a hushed voice, "Are you... expecting?"
Mrs. Guo also stared eagerly, her eyes full of anticipation.
Chen Wanqing nodded shyly. "It’s still early, so the pregnancy isn’t fully stable yet. But we had a doctor check my pulse, and he said it’s most likely true."
Grandmother Xu was instantly beside herself with excitement. Adding another joyous event to an already great day—this was a double blessing! It was no wonder she was so overjoyed; the Xu family still didn’t have a single great-grandson yet.
Even though Xu Yanlin was the eldest grandson, he was already twenty-six or twenty-seven. If it were anyone else at this age, their children would be old enough to run errands. However, starting from Grandfather Xu’s generation, the men of the Xu family all married late. It was normal for a man to marry at twenty-two or twenty-three, and marrying at twenty-four or twenty-five wasn’t considered late either. Xu Yanlin had only been married for three years. He had only tied the knot after passing the imperial examination as an Advanced Scholar, receiving an official post, and establishing his career. He and Miss Huang had been married for three years without any news of a pregnancy, but the family was already used to it.